Edinburgh Trams: Almost Ready to Roll
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THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE www.lrta.org www.tramnews.net FEBRUARY 2014 NO. 914 EDINBURGH TRAMS: ALMOST READY TO ROLL London Underground: 150 years and going strong Five new lines open in one weekend A northern network for Brussels? Cincinnati receives crucial ‘go’ vote ISSN 1460-8324 £4.10 New tramways Keeping moving 02 This year’s planned Polish lessons on openings examined serving passengers 9 771460 832036 SRS Road Rail System International Limited OVERHEAD ELECTRIFICATION STANCHION DELIVERY GANTRY ERECTION TEMPORARY CLIPPING UP FITTING DROPPERS DISPENSING CATENARY & CONTACT WIRES SIMULTANEOUSLY MOBILE ELEVATED FINAL WORK PLATFORM PANTOGRAPH GUIDES CONTROL CATENARY SAFE • RELIABLE • VERSATILE • FLEXIBLE FOR INTERNATIONAL HIRE COMMERCIAL TRUCKS ON THE ROAD VERSATILE TOOLS ON THE TRACK To hire road rail at its best call: 0870 050 9242 email [email protected] or visit our website www.srsrailuk.com 0089_Paisley_Edinburgh_A4.indd 1 10/01/2014 13:19 CONTENTS The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association FEBRUARY 2014 Vol. 77 No. 914 www.tramnews.net EDITORIAL EDITOR Simon Johnston Tel: +44 (0)1733 367601 E-mail: [email protected] 13 Orton Enterprise Centre, Bakewell Road, Peterborough PE2 6XU, UK 44 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tony Streeter E-mail: [email protected] WORLDWIDE EDITOR 57 Michael Taplin Flat 1, 10 Hope Road, Shanklin, Isle of Wight PO37 6EA, UK. E-mail: [email protected] NEWS EDITOR John Symons 17 Whitmore Avenue, Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs ST9 0LW, UK. E-mail: [email protected] SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR Neil Pulling 61 WORLDWIDE CONTRIBUTORS Tony Bailey, James Chuang, Paul Nicholson (Australia), Richard Felski (Spain), Ed Havens, Bill NEWS 44 SYSTEMS FACTFILE: TOULOUSE 81 Vigrass (USA), Andrew Moglestue (Switzerland), New tramway lines open in France, Germany Neil Pulling reports on a French city that is Mike Russell, Nikolai Semyonov (Russia), Vic Simons, and the US; Manchester’s Oldham line (UK) expanding its single tramline to the centre. Alain Senut (France), Thomas Wagner (Germany). is set to follow; funding granted for Odense PRODUCTION LRT project; Algerian plans move ahead. WORLDWIDE REVIEW 88 Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 E-mail: [email protected] Gold Coast tracklaying completed; Ottawa DESIGN NEW TRAMWAYS FOR 2014 51 approves second LRT stage; new Chinese Debbie Nolan Michael Taplin gives his forecast for the metro lines open; Budapest tenders tram link. ADVERTISING year’s new openings. With 13 or 14 systems COMMERCIAL MANAGER Vicky Binley on the cards it looks a promising year... MAILBOX 94 Tel: +44 (0)1733 367602 E-mail: [email protected] High-floor tramways have a place; Cincinnati ADVERTISING MANAGER EDINBURGH 57 streetcar triumph; Russia’s tram pioneer. Andy Adams The tramway in the Scottish capital has faced Tel: +44 (0)1733 367605 E-mail: [email protected] a few difficult years – but with the opening CLASSIC TRAMS: KEEPING MOVING 96 PUBLISHER just months away, the launch team is in Mike Russell examines how one Polish Howard Johnston buoyant mood. Howard Johnston reports. tramway serves passengers during trackworks. Tramways & Urban Transit is jointly published by the LRTA and LRTA Publishing on the third Friday of each month preceding the cover date. LONDON UNDERGROUND SPECIAL 61 LRTA WEBSITE AND DIARY TAUT celebrates the development and significance of the world’s most iconic transport Brian Lomas system – and examines its exciting plans for the future. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up members of the Light Rail Transit Association. When you pay for a tram, why expect a bus? SUBSCRIPTIONS If you pay for anything in life then you expect that product or service to LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. deliver what it promises. BACK ISSUES A recent rural train journey, booked well in advance, was cancelled due Tel: +44 (0)1406 373070 to engineering works on the line (as we only found out later). So instead PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION of a comfortable train with toilets, air conditioning, wi-fi, a buffet service Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, and a journey time of around 45 minutes, myself and a companion Lincs PE10 9PH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391000. were treated to an old bus with none of the above, tatty seats and a new journey time of LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE around an hour and a half. With poor signage and explanation of the reasons why (and c/o 138 Radnor Avenue, Welling, Kent DA16 2BY, UK. abysmal directional advice on where to catch the bus or how long it would take), as a Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 in England and Wales. consequence my friend missed his connecting onward train service – like many others. LRTA CHAIRMAN But this situation is not limited to trains. I have experienced similar situations in Andrew Braddock recent months with two tramways, one in the UK and one in mainland Europe, where LRTA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN services were delayed or cancelled with little explanation or advice for onward travel. Vic Simons Effective information and service provision is key to attracting and retaining passengers. LRTA PUBLISHING REGISTERED OFFICE: Unexpected delays happen, but when this happens an alternative of similar quality c/o 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 4TU, should be provided – or at least an offer of a partial refund to make up the difference. UK. Private Limited Company, No. 06169422 Mike Russell’s excellent report from Tramwaje Slaskie in Poland shows a fine example in England and Wales. of only relying on bus substitution as a last resort. Innovative thinking allows for the © LRTA Publishing 2014. almost constant provision of tram services... for passengers who have paid for a tram Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also later be used on our websites or other media. A contribution service. More operators could take a lesson from this in remembering their customers. is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the Onto the good news... This month we celebrate the London Underground and look opinions expressed in it, and such opinions are not those of at its exciting future development plans (TfL is one organisation that does get the LRTA Publishing or the LRTA. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in passenger experience right), and look forward to the tramways due to open in 2014. any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including We’ve also been treated to a behind-the-scenes look at Edinburgh Trams’ testing and photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from commissioning programme with new Director and General Manager Tom Norris. the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the Tom and his team have to work hard to convince many Edinburghers to look beyond the magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. recent years of chaos by delivering exceptional service; let’s hope it works – and that before COVER: Edinburgh Trams 265 at the St Andrew too long the Scottish capital will be clamouring for more trams. Simon Johnston, Editor Square stop on 17 December 2013. Donald Stirling www.tramnews.net . www.lrta.org FEBRUARY 2014 / 43 News Five new lines open in one weekend Extensions to French and German tram systems launched over the European timetable change he weekend of the tram-train system as new line European timetable S42 was inaugurated to provide a change (14-15 30-minute service on the 6.1km December) saw five (3.8-mile) Stadtbahn Nord from Tnew tram extensions opened in Heilbronn Bhf to Neckarsulm Bhf. France and Germany. Some 3.6km (2.2 miles) is In Toulouse, line T1 was street based, the remainder extended over the Ligne Garonne running alongside train tracks from Arenes to Palais de Justice (some sharing with industrial (interchange with metro line B). lines), but the latter have had The 3.4km (2.1-mile) EUR115m to be classified as governed project includes a rebuilt bridge by BOStrab (tramway) rules across the river. Livery changes rather than EBO (railway) were made to the 18 Alstom regulations. This is because Citadis trams to mark the opening. the four Bombardier ET2010 Valenciennes inaugurated dual-voltage cars allocated for The inaugural trams on the Valenciennes extension were Citadis 24 and 26, its second tramline, line B the service (two in use plus two flying the French and EU flags. J. Jännick from Anzin to Vieux-Condé, spares) have not yet been cleared which will have service over the for EBO operations. When this Bombardier ET2010 923 on the newly-opened S42 branch in Heilbronn on existing line to and from Gare happens in late spring 2014, the 14 December. LiftTurist SNCF, on 13 December. Despite new service will be extended the official inauguration, regular on railway tracks to Mosbach, passenger service will not start offering a 20-minute service; until 24 February. the cost of the whole project is The 15.5km (9.6-mile) line is EUR84.7m. mostly single track with passing In Köln (Cologne) the city’s loops (permitting a ten-minute ‘second cathedral’ was opened, service) and cost EUR150m, a the 28.5m deep, EUR90m price that includes seven more Heumarkt station on the new Citadis trams. Line B is due to be north–south Stadtbahn served by extended in the other direction to a one-station extension of line 5. Quiévrain on the Belgian border, Finally, München (Munich) bringing it to 29.7km (18.5 miles). chose the weekend to extend In Clermont-Ferrand the line 19 through the streets Translohr rubber-tyred tramway of Pasing on a loop linking line A was extended 1.7km (1.1 Marienplatz and Pasing Bhf miles) to Champratel aux Vergnes.